things are broken, but we'll heal together
by leonettetyrell
Summary: "She needs someone like you".  Tori/André, angsty yet fluffy.  Contains darker material.


Fifteen colored pills.  
>A cup of clear water.<br>A dash of white powder.

The perfect recipe for death.  
>The chef? Tori Vega.<p>

(&)

André had just been let into the Vega residence by Trina. He and Tori were supposed to go see a movie. He had pulled up ten minutes ago and shot Tori a text announcing his arrival.

She didn't respond.

So into the house he went.

"Where is she?"

Trina replied: "Upstairs in her room still. Do you want me to go get her?" she asked, in the tone suggesting she didn't really want to, but would still do it out of necessity.

André shook his head. "It's cool. I'll go up there and get her myself".

And so up the stairs he went.

(&)

André knocked on the door.

"Tori?"

There was no reply.

He knocked harder; Tori still didn't indicate that she knew he was there.

André tried the handle to her door. It was locked.

Frantic, he started slamming his hands on the door, shouting her name over and over again.  
>"Tori! Tori!"<p>

When she remained silent, André knew what he needed to do.  
>And so he positioned himself and ran toward the door.<br>Once he knocked it down, he couldn't believe his eyes.

(&)

"Trina, call 911!"  
>"What?" she shouted stupidly.<br>"CALL 911 NOW, STUPID! TORI'S DYING!"

Trina did so without further hesitation.

The light in André's life lay on her bed, breathing shallowly.

He crossed the room swiftly to her pale figure.

Shaking her shoulders, he pleaded:  
>"Wake up, Tori! Come on!"<p>

She didn't move.

"I told you. I don't know what she did! She's dying; she's barely breathing!"  
>A voice could be heard over Trina's phone.<p>

"Just send someone over here!"

Within two minutes, a siren wailed in the distance. Within another ten, Tori was on a stretcher and in an ambulance.

Trina climbed in; the doors slammed shut, and the sirens went off again.

In shock and cursing softly to himself, André followed the EMTs in his car.

(&)

Once at the hospital, André found Tori's room quickly.  
>Trina was on the phone with her parents in the hallway; André quietly stood next to her.<p>

After she hung up, Trina looked over at him.

"They're on their way," she said, her voice dead and shocked.  
>"And Tori?"<p>

Trina ran her hand through her hair. "They said she'll be ok. If it had been even five minutes later, it would've been too late. …She needs rest; right now, she's sleeping."

Trina began to sob quietly as she finally allowed the ordeal to sink in. Not knowing what else to do, André wrapped his arms around her in a brotherly hug.

As her tears stained his shirt, he awkwardly reached up and patted Trina's hair.

"It'll be ok, Trina."  
>In between cries, Trina sniffled out:<br>"Thank God you came, André, because without you, she'd be dead. I…I was too wrapped up in myself to notice that something was wrong with her…"  
><em>She called me André, <em>he thought. _That's a first._

Keeping his hands on her shoulders, André broke the embrace.  
>"Look at me, Trina. It's not your fault. But if you know what caused Tori to want to kill herself, you have to tell me".<p>

She took a deep breath.

"Well, she said she had a project to do with that puppet boy the other night. When she came home, though, she was acting differently. She muttered something about feeling soiled, but I just put it down to his being a loser".

André thanked her, walked into Tori's room, and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back tomorrow, ok? Hang in there."

As he walked back into the hallway to leave, Trina called out his name.

He turned around to see what she wanted.

"You really love her, don't you?"

His throat dried up as he nodded.

She smiled a tired sort of smile. "Good. She needs someone like you."

(&)

"Yo, Shapiro!"

Turning around with a grin, Robbie drew out a "Yes?"

"We need to talk! What happened between you and Tori the other night?"

The grin quickly turned into a deranged smile as Robbie responded:

"I took what was rightfully mine. Have a problem with that?"

The sound of André's fist connecting with Robbie's jaw quickly answered that question.

Kneeling down on the ground next to Robbie, André hissed:

"You raped her, didn't you? You sick bastard".  
>"She was asking for it".<p>

Robbie's head quickly came up and came back into contact with the ground.

Lane ran over then, shouting:  
>"What is going on? Both of you, in my office, now! And someone get an ice pack for Robbie!"<p>

(&)

"So, who's going to tell me what happened first?"

André was sullen, so Robbie quickly spoke up.

"André punched me and then slammed my head into the ground for no apparent reason!"

Indignant, André hopped in.

"You lying bastard! You know why I did it!"  
>"Why did you, André?"<p>

"HE RAPED TORI!"

Lane recoiled, and then quietly asked:  
>"Is that true, Robbie?"<p>

"Of course not! Why would I do something like that?"

In a calmer but still angry voice, André interjected:  
>"Then why did she try to kill herself last night?"<p>

"How do you know about that, André?" questioned Lane.

"I'm the one who found her." _Because I love her._

"Her suicide note only had three words. 'I am soiled.'" turning to Robbie, Lane added: "You had better come clean, Robbie. This doesn't look good for you."

(&)

Tori was only half awake when André visited her later that evening.

"Hey baby girl, how are you feeling?"

Tori smiled weakly when she saw him. "Hey André. I'm feeling better."

"That's good."

"Do…do the others know?"

"Not yet. I'll tell them if you want me to."

"No. Please. That wasn't Tori Vega that night. That was…an act of desperation."

"I know it wasn't, baby girl."

"Hey best friend?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

And in that moment, André was seized by her vulnerability and beauty all at the same time.

He bent over and joined their two lips. Tori responded the best she could, but he could sense her fear at being so close to him right after what Robbie did to her.

They broke apart.

Tori panted quietly.  
>"André, much as I want that, we can't right now. I can't…you know what happened, I'm sure".<p>

"Yeah, I do," he said through gritted teeth. "And you know what, Tori? He and I had a sit-down in Lane's office today, and he was arrested. He's not going to ever hurt you again, baby girl. I promise".

She smiled, a little bit brighter than before.

"It's because you're going to take care of me, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"Hey, boyfriend?"  
>"Oh, I'm boyfriend now?" he teased lightly.<p>

With an essence of the happy Tori Vega, she laughed and told him to shut up.

"Can you just hold me until you have to go?"

André happily consented, and didn't let her go until the nurse woke him up at ten o'clock telling him he really did have to go.

_She'll be ok, won't she?_

And, as if answering himself, his conscience answered.

_No. She'll be Tori again._

**Fin.**

**A/N: **What? My hiatus ended a day ago and I'm already back writing fic? I apologize for this crap, and major thanks goes to Selena (inabell98) for inspiring me over the summer when I started work on this.

Seriously, I don't even know what this is. I just wanted André to break down a door, really. =).  
>So, do I still have it? Review and let me know.<p> 


End file.
